Thunderstorm Leaves Reno Casinos, Homes in Dark

A severe thunderstorm nailed the Reno area, turning out the lights at casinos and a stadium where former major league slugger Jose Canseco was playing for a minor league team.

Friday night’s storm dropped up to 1.5 inches of rain in 45 minutes in some areas and also caused widespread street flooding across the region.

“I’ve never seen a light show like this before,” said Mike Alger, veteran meteorologist at KTVN-TV in Reno.

While backup generators allowed portions of its casino to continue in operation, most of Harrah’s Reno was in the dark for at least two hours, spokeswoman Jamie Agee said.

The storm forced the cancellation of Harrah’s late-night revue “Rock My Ride,” and shut guests out of hotel rooms.

“It was more of an inconvenience than anything,” Agee said. “They were bringing in water for guests because it was so hot inside.”

Down the street at the Silver Legacy Resort Hotel, the storm washed out an outdoor Reno Philharmonic concert and a fireworks display to mark the resort’s 11th anniversary.

“With the wind and lightning, we had to shut the concert down after only two musical numbers,” spokeswoman Sue Putnam said.

Canseco ground out to third and walked before the baseball game was suspended in the 5th inning with the Reno Silver Sox leading his Long Beach Armada, 3-2.

Canseco, 42, received a police escort from the dugout to the parking lot after the stadium lights went out.

At Reno-Tahoe International Airport, several incoming and outgoing flights were delayed, spokesman Brian Kulpin said.

While they were unable to provide an estimate, Sierra Pacific Power Co. officials said the storm at its height left thousands of customers without power across northern Nevada and northeast California.

Crews still were working Saturday to restore power to an undetermined number of customers.